User blog:DudeTomato/"Where's God When I'm S-Scared?" Mini-Review
Hello, and thank you for reading! I am going to try to make a mini-review for every episode of VeggieTales. I am going to try to do at least one a week. Today I am reviewing Where's God When I'm S-Scared?. This is an episode special to many people, including myself. It was the first VeggieTales ''episode after all, introducing Bob and Larry to our VCRs (and later DVD players). There are plenty of things to like about this episode, but at the same time I feel that some parts fall a bit flat. Keep reading and you'll see what I mean. ' Countertop Scenes ''' The countertop scenes in this episode aren't particularly special or interesting. If anything, parts of it are a bit jarring. Bob has a physical letter to read, which doesn't happen very often. On top of that, when Bob is reading there is a voice-over of a girl reading the letter. Her performance is not convincing and just feels out of place. I also think that the pacing on the countertop scenes are a little faster than usual. They seem a bit rushed is what I'm saying. There still are good parts, however. My favorite gag is when QWERTY brings up a meatloaf recipe instead of a Bible verse. It never fails to make me chuckle. Bob's reactions and annoyed expressions during the "What Have We Learned Song" are priceless, and some of the best in the show. I also am slightly amused by Larry's story about his bunny slippers, but just a bit. Overall, these countertop scenes are very lacking. Tales From the Crisper This is the first-ever Veggie story, and is quite the mixed bag to boot. The idea of the story is a pretty good one, but raises some...let's say uncomfortable questions. How did Bob and Larry know Junior was scared? How did they get into his room? How did the monsters and Frankencelery get in? You could argue this was all Junior's imagination, but if that's true he's one messed up asparagus. There's that one scene where Junior imagines his family portrait becoming "evil", which was just odd and obviously scared quite a few kids when they were younger (maybe I was one of them). Some of the dialogue is flat, as well. Mom and Dad Asparagus sound like very generic TV parents in this one, moreso than usual. Junior's dialogue sucks too. He's portrayed as arrogant and somewhat of a doofus, without much of anything to make him interesting. The story is again a bit rushed as well. Of course, there are some positives. "God is Bigger" is a catchy, memorable song that gets its message across while remaining fun. Bob and Larry's dialogue has some great moments, too. My favorite of these has to be when Larry recites a verse from one of the angels in the New Testament, only for Bob to tell Larry that's the wrong story. Bob and Larry's explanation of God's power with the stars was also handled well. I like the Frankencelery TV show as well. It is incredibly cheesy, but you can also understand why Junior would be afraid of it. Overall, this segment is just okay. The Water Buffalo Song This is the first Silly Song ever, and it is entertaining. The announcer's serious tone compared to Larry's nonsensical lyrics about Water Buffalo is some funny stuff. This song is a classic, and Archibald's rant is definitely the best part of the segment. With all that said, I do have an issue with the song's incredibly short length. I understand that at the time Silly Songs with Larry wasn't intended to be a recurring segment, but by comparing it to all the other Silly Songs from the first ten years this ends up leaving way more to be desired. Again, it is funny, but as a Silly Song it is way too short and in my opinion doesn't age well compared to many other Silly Songs. Daniel and the Lion's Den This last segment is easily the best of the episode. There's some great comedy with Larry and especially the wacky Scallions, and overall the story remains mostly faithful to the Bible story with some creative liberties to make it more entertaining and less complicated for kids (for example, having only one king instead of three separate ones). "Oh No, What We Gonna Do?" is my favorite song of the episode. It's a catchy villain song that also doesn't take itself too seriously. The tone and pacing is also a lot more consistent compared to the countertop scenes and "Tales From the Crisper". There are some drawbacks, though. The songs outside of "Oh No, What We Gonna Do?" are pretty bland and forgettable. Mabel and Penelope debut in this episode, but have no role whatsoever (they won't even appear again for about seven years). The narrator feels a little out of place. The Scallion's movements in "Oh No" are very choppy and look unfinished, the landscape of Babylon is untextured and obviously unfinished, and the lions being represented as glowing eyes in the dark was a bit underwhelming. I understand that they were running out of time, so animating the Scallions fluently and animating lions would've probably would've been impossible under their time limit, but it sticks out like a sore thumb. Still, it is overall a fun retelling of the Bible story, and shows that despite all of the episode's flaws VeggieTales ''could still be promising. ' Things I Noticed ''' *Larry and the Silly Song Announcer sound very different in this episode. *Junior has a poster of Bob and Larry on his wall, but doesn't know who they are. *The wind-up lobster is in Junior's toychest. Final Thoughts At the end of the day, Where's God When I'm S-Scared? ''is just okay. There are many issues that prevent this episode from being one of my favorites, but I still have a place in my heart for it as it was the first episode. The moral was handled alright for the most part, but I believe a certain other episode handled it better, and is better overall. You may know which episode I'm talking about, but in case you don't I won't spoil what it is. Next time, I will be looking at ''God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?!. Will this episode be an improvement over the first one? Well...in my opinion, not really, but you'll see. Take care and may God bless! Category:Blog posts